Jeff over at Protein Wisdom has written a series of posts under the heading "Provocateurism" that led me to a little thought that is, in some circles, needlessly, in my opinion, characterized as radical. Which is a lot of commas for such a small bit of text. That thought is that those concerned with American racial divisiveness and angst and sturm and drang and cetera need to come to grips with the question "why is it that white people who procreate with other races don't have white children?"
Yeah, from the mouths of babes, right? In other words, why are caucasian attributes considered to be so fragile that they can't survive exposure to non-caucasian attributes in the genetic mixing bowl? Why is white skin considered to be so adulterable, in a way that Asian, African, Latino, Pacific Islander, et al are not (in the U.S., generally, at least)?
Is it a function of the majority-white demographic hereabouts? And if so, when said demographic shifts significantly enough that whites are just one more minority among many, instead of being the overwhelming majority, will that attitude change? Will more "half-white" and "quarter-white" children start checking the "white" box on their census forms and thereby cause some sort of (purely academic) resurgence in American whiteness? And, in an hilarious development, would some of them develop so ferocious a racial identity that the white power movement would experience an heretofore unexpected diversification within its benighted ranks? Leading then to some sort of schism between the hard-line and moderate white supremacists, the latter being perhaps more concerned with dwindling subscription rates, and willing to accept adherents of any skin-tone or maxillofacial configuration so long as their ideology is correct?
Some questions, you see, just lead to more questions.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
Says the guy whose wife-to-be used to think he was Asian. Free Tibet!
Do we really use "an" infront of words begining with "h"?
You did it twice in this post and I'm uncertain if that's correct use... it doesn't sound right, but that don't mean it ain't.
;)
And, uh, only people who want to sell their reporting continue this race-baiting mantra in America. I'm not saying racism doesn't exist, but I am saying it doesn't exist to the level that some, especially in the media, would have you believe. That kind of thing sells papers. The rhetorical questions thereafter are meaningless to me.
by the way, this is Dave, I don't remember my blogger identity at the moment
only if you pronounce the phrase with an elision (and thereby a lack of aspiration), which glf does because he's British. One of those rare British Asians.
The perspective of someone who IS "half-white"...there is a reason why we do not check the "white" box. When my brother was younger, a teacher told him to check the "white" box on his state standardized test. When my brother asked why, the teacher told him that he wouldn't want to associate himself with any other race, the implication being that he knew that my brother was going to do well on the test, and either a) didn't want any opportunities to be closed off to him...or b) thought that anyone who did well on tests was obviously white.
I'm glad I didn't have that man as a teacher, because, even as a fourth grader, I would have had the presence of mind to tell him to shove it where the sun don't shine.
As absolutely hilarious as unexpected diversification of the white power movement would be, it just wouldn't happen. The premise assumes that mixed-race people WANT to identify as white. That's why I don't check boxes at all, if I can help it, unless they allow me to check multiple boxes. I'm not going to deny a part of my ethnic heritage because it makes it easier for someone to categorize me. If anything, I always strive to make it harder for people to classify me. The harder it is to put me in some kind of stereotypical box, the harder people will work to figure out who I am. They won't be able to rely on the "what," and they'll either work harder or give up. The ones who work harder are worth knowing...the ones who give up...
P.S. I am a friend of Kate's. I like your blog.
I appreciate your perspective, Melanie, but I think the drive to assimilate could result in some mixed-race people identifying themselves as "white" on surveys. The leap from changing your name from "Pei-ying" to "Patricia" to assuming a white cultural identity in the census is not so great for some people, I would think. Children especially. I remember wishing my name was more normal (and/or anglo) when I was little, like "Dave" or "Joe" or "Pete." Of course, now Gabriel is all trendy, and whenever I hear women yelling my name in the supermarket, they are invariably talking to their young children. Which is weird.
Post a Comment